Declaration of Independence-- Kyle Lachmnd

In the Declaration of Independence we see a strong, meticulous argument justifying the use of violent force when citizens have been denied their natural rights. At the convening of the Second Continental Congress there were profound disagreements among the various representatives about whether Britain’s actions towards the colonies, however distasteful, justified complete political separation. To gain the unanimous support necessary to declare war on Britain, Jefferson needed to produce a document that would communicate to the world that the American War of Independence was strongly based on principles of liberty.
Jefferson powerfully lists the grievances of the colonists, specifically pointing out the violations of their inalienable rights. Many of the rights later listed in the bill of rights—prohibiting the forced quartering of soldiers, due process, trial by jury, and rights of local governance—appear in Jefferson’s grievances. Jefferson’s fear of tyranny and belief in limited government, ideas that would later strongly influence his Presidency, also show up in this manifesto on human liberty. His statement, “when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government,” foreshadows the later battles he would fight with the Federal Government of the United States.
Most importantly, the Declaration of Independence is a testimony to the influence of Enlightenment thinkers like Locke and Rousseau on the Founding Fathers. The individualist idea of a Creator endowing natural rights to each individual established the foundation of American political thought and history.
Kyle Lachmund